I'm dreaming of an 8-bit Christmas

I don't know about you, but I've always wanted someone to release a (good) Christmas-themed game. This was especially true when I was a youngster. In fact, my desire was so strong for such a game that I tried to make my own.

Back when Nintendo Power magazine was still in its infancy, it held a contest that called on readers to create a game. The idea I came up with consisted of a platformer that took players through a whole host of holidays. I know, it wasn't the most creative of ideas, but I was pretty happy with it at the time.

Anyway, I only designed a few of the game's enemies and stages, but all of them had to do with that merriest of holidays, Christmas.

Why am I bringing this up? I'm not entirely sure (sorry), but I think it's to show that I'm still waiting for a good Christmas-themed game to come along.

Is RetroZone's 8-BIT XMAS 2010 that game? Definitely not. I just played it for a few minutes (you can download the ROM for free from retrousb.com) and, frankly, it stunk.

That said, I don't think the game is supposed to be the star atop this pixelated tree. What is? The game's see-through cart--which is filled with colorful, blinking lights. (Here's a video of five such carts in action.) Are those lights alone worth RetroZone's $39 asking price? Not in my opinion, but don't let that stop you from buying one.

A seemingly better option: Super Mario Bros. 2: Christmas Edition. I can't vouch for this ROM hack since I've yet to play it, but the video above makes it seem worth a look--especially since (I'm guessing) it's free.